Re: YAEDT? Syntax in dialects of English (was: Of accents & dialects (was: Azurian phonology))

"Do sit down" as you mention definitely has an air of politeness about it
that maybe "please sit down" doesn't. But it can also have
something of a dismissive notion - depends how you say it!
IIRC, the series you mention is full of RP, but a word of warning when
listening to British accents - especially in the South of England -
on British TV! For some reason, the BBC especially seems to think that
everybody in the rural parts of Southern England has (for instance)
postvocalic r (ooo arrr!). They always manage to screw up East Anglian
accents to make them sound like Somerset.
Mike
>
> I bought the boxed set (9 seasons) of the Britcom "As Time Goes By," an
> excellent series, and have watched it many times.  I've noticed several
> instances of the following as the imperative:
>